The Scorries beat the Sutherland side 3-0 in their last derby encounter, a league fixture at Brora in early January, but Wick co-managers Richard Hughes and Ian Munro expect Saturday's cup clash to be much closer.

"We had the upper hand the last time but Brora will be looking to avenge that result," Hughes said. "They will be in confident mood after their 2-2 draw with Deveronvale last Saturday when they came back from being 2-0 down.

"This will be a tough fixture. It is a local derby and a cup game which will give it a bit of added spice."

Although Academy are currently nine points better off than Brora in the HFL table, Hughes is adamant that league form will not be a factor on Saturday.

"It means nothing in a cup game and much could depend on which team has the right attitude on the day," he said. "Dudgeon Park is an excellent ground for playing good, entertaining football, and we will be hoping to come out on top, but the weather could have an influence on the result."

Academy and Brora had to contend with strong, gusting winds in their respective league games against Rothes and Deveronvale last weekend and Hughes is keeping his fingers crossed for more favourable conditions tomorrow.

Gary Weir struck twice as Wick fought back from a two-goal deficit against the Speysiders, who had Grant Milne and Mike Grant sent off either side of half-time. Academy keeper James More saved a penalty with a quarter of an hour to go.

Hughes said: "If we'd got the two extra points we would have jumped up to ninth in the league. I think the players might have tried too hard after Rothes went down to 10 and then nine men, rather than being patient and disciplined in their approach, but you have to give credit to our opponents who worked hard and tried to hit us on the break."

Looking ahead to the cup tie, Hughes said: "We should have as strong a squad as we can have for the game. David Mowat will be back and everybody who played on Saturday should be available, although Davie Cowie and Alex Lamb will still be out of contention."

Brora boss Jim Kelly will be without forward Scott Mackay-Steven, midfielder Gary Perks and defender Kevin MacLeod.

"We are not after revenge but want to put on a good show and a good performance," Kelly said. "If we do that we will accept the outcome."

Kelly was impressed with his team's efforts against Deveronvale last weekend. However, while he was delighted with the way young players such as James Murray from Thurso performed, he stressed that his side does not have someone with the experience of Martin Gunn or ex-Brora player Gary Farquhar who, he said, has "the sharpest football brain in the Highland League" and is "one of the best players to come out of Caithness".

Kelly said: "Our problem is consistency. If we start well enough we can go on and win the game – we are certainly capable of getting a result. Academy have been playing quite well and stringing a few results together, although they would have been disappointed last Saturday with a draw against nine-man Rothes."

Like Hughes, Kelly hopes adverse weather will not be a factor in the game. He added that teams enjoy visiting Dudgeon Park because of the standard of the playing surface.

"It is in great condition at the moment and is always a joy to play on," he said.

"We will be hoping the weather is not too bad on Saturday so both teams can get a chance to play good football."

* Highland League officials are looking into the possibility of teams from Shetland and the Western Isles competing in next season's SFA Challenge Cup.

Informal discussions have already taken place with a view to a Shetland select being included in the 2008 draw. A Western Isles side is also understood to be interested in taking part.

Magnus Flaws, chairman of the Shetland Football Association, told www.highlandleague.net that he was hopeful the idea would get the go-ahead.

"It's early days but our written application has gone in to the Highland Football League for their consideration, so it's just a case of seeing how things go from here," he said.

"If we do get in, we would play our first-round game away from home and the same would go with any further progress made. It is vital our players get the chance to dip their feet into Highland competitive action."

The Challenge Cup was introduced last year as a replacement for the North Qualifying Cup.

* Brora Rangers v Wick Academy is one of seven ties scheduled for tomorrow in the first round of the Foster's Highland League Cup. The others are: Buckie Thistle v Rothes; Forres Mechanics v Deveronvale; Huntly v Fort William; Inverurie Locos v Lossiemouth; Keith v Fraserburgh; Nairn County v Cove Rangers.

g.calder@nosn.co.uk

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